Mic Dinsmore Day? Yes! Feb. 23, 2007

Did you miss the celebration of Mic Dinsmore Day on Feb. 23, 2007, as declared by the City of Seattle and the state of Washington?

In a Jan. 19, 2007 e-mail, City of Seattle Deputy Mayor Tim Ceis told the port the city “would be delighted” to issue a proclamation declaring Feb. 23 as Mic Dinsmore Day at the behest of Port of Seattle Commissioner Pat Davis.

In April, I called the city clerk and the mayor’s office but got no response: a little more sifting has turned up the proclamation itself: check it out here.

The hallowed Mic Dinsmore Day was echoed by Gov. Chris Gregoire’s office (scroll to the bottom to read the full text).

Ex-Port of Seattle CEO Dinsmore retired in March 2007 to take a job with hedge fund Stark Investments; he had told the port staff in a video message that he wanted to leave his 15-year tenure at the port “on an absolute high.”

During his time at the port, Dinsmore won many admirers but also many critics for pushing through Sea-Tac Airport’s third runway and the expansion of its central terminal, as well as the overhaul of Terminals 5 and 18 on the waterfront. Dinsmore’s detractors recognized his successes — bringing the highly successful cruise business to Seattle, for example — but they also were wary of the way in which he did so: by losing money for the port and making money for its private partners.

Although Dinsmore already had a whiff of cronyism attached to him, his reputation took a blow a month later when the Seattle P-I reported that Davis, who had received Dinsmore’s support during her re-election campaign, signed a memo to grant him up to a year extra of his $339,841 salary. The payment never happened. Regardless, Dinsmore’s two retirement plans total $858,617, of which the port contributed $431,231 — a continuation of the lavish lifestyle he had enjoyed while with the port.

Dinsmore said he no longer would seek the money a day before the commission, which was bitterly divided about whether or not they had discussed the matter in closed-door sessions, publicly voted not to give it to him. As it turns out, extending his tenure on the port payrolls would also have boosted his annual pension, which already stands at $107,000 per year, according to a rough port calculation.

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Text of Dinsmore proclamation by Gregoire:

WHEREAS, M. R. “Mic” Dinsmore has served as CEO of Washington State’s largest port for 15 years; and

WHEREAS, Mic has never wavered in his support of building this region’s air passenger and sea trade capacity; and

WHEREAS, Mic is widely recognized as a strong and consistent leader, directing some of the most significant public infrastructure projects of our time, including a world class airport, four major container terminals, and essential freight mobility projects; and

WHEREAS, while representing the Port of Seattle and the state around the world, Mic has developed and nurtured significant trade and tourism relationships for this region; and

WHEREAS, Mic spearheaded the Port’s development of the new multi-million dollar cruise industry in our state; and

WHEREAS, Mic’s leadership has fostered economic benefits for hundreds of thousands of workers and their families in this state;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Christine O. Gregoire, Governor of the state of Washington honor Mic Dinsmore on his retirement as CEO of the Port of Seattle,
and on the beginning of his new career in the private sector, and do hereby proclaim February 23, 2007, as

Mic Dinsmore Day

in Washington State, and I urge all citizens to join me in this special observance.

Dinsmore’s public stature took another hit when the state Auditor’s Office issued its long-awaited review of the port’s construction management, which found the port had wasted nearly $100 million, cozied up to its contractors, violated state law and its own policies, and deceived the commission about it all.

The audit spawned a federal criminal investigation by the Department of Justice, after which the port commission decided the port would pay for its staff’s defense until it was found they were acting in bad faith. They left Dinsmore out of their largesse by excluding employees who had left the port of their own volition. The port has spent more than $1 million on its team of outside lawyers, but the Justice Department has yet to interview anyone, it would appear: the lawyer hired to represent port staff during DOJ interviews has yet to file a bill.

When Port of Seattle Governmental Affairs Manager Mike Merritt e-mailed Davis about getting Ceis to agree to Mic Dinsmore Day, he wrote: “We still can get some things done.”